State monitors to review plans for fixing Dallas ISD schools

The Texas Education Agency plans to send academic monitors to the Dallas school district next month to review the district’s efforts to improve its struggling schools.

In a letter to Superintendent Mike Miles, the education agency said it has concerns about Dallas ISD’s efforts to improve the 34 campuses that have the state’s lowest academic rating of “improvement required.”

The state also wants to review DISD’s programs for special education, career and technical education, and English as a second language.

The letter, sent to Miles last month, says the onsite team from the Texas Education Agency will review records, conduct interviews and focus group discussions, and conduct field work to review plans for improving the schools.

The education agency said DISD is receiving monitors because of concerns raised by a review of years of student performance and program data. The monitors will arrive Feb. 10 and leave Feb. 14.

Monitors also will visit other Texas school districts in the coming weeks, said DeEtta Culbertson, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency. None of the visits will be open to the public, she said.

It’s the first time in several years that the TEA will send monitors to Dallas. Monitors came during the 2011-12 school year after DISD refused to implement federally funded tutoring under No Child Left Behind because of concerns about the tutoring providers.

The state agency assigned a monitor in 2008 to review DISD’s governance, finance and other areas. The monitor attended Dallas ISD board meetings and met with the district’s superintendents.

Michael Williams, the state education commissioner, removed the monitor last year, citing the district’s academic and financial progress.

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